Chamberss Edinburgh Journal, No. 445 | Page 9

no less than twenty-one, of which
twelve are total. On the north coast of England the numbers are
appalling. Off Hartlepool are fifteen, eight being total. Off Sunderland
are twelve, all total but three. Off Newcastle are fifteen, eight total. Ah,
that fearful, iron-bound coast of Northumberland! We have hugged it
close in calm weather, with a fair breeze, and the views we caught of its
shores made us shudder to think of what would befall a vessel on a
stormy night and the shore alee. The following is the awful summary of
1850:--'The wrecks of British and foreign vessels on the coasts and in

the seas of the United Kingdom were 681. Of these, 277 were total
wrecks; sunk by leaks or collisions, 84; stranded and damaged so as to
require to discharge cargo, 304; abandoned, 16. Total wrecks, &c., 681;
total lives lost, 784.'
Certain peculiar marks on this chart indicate the spots where life-boats
are kept. In the vicinity of Liverpool we count no less than seven, and
not one too many; but in many parts of the coast, where numerous
wrecks occur, there are none. In all England there are eighty life-boats;
in Ireland, eight; in Scotland, eight. A most portentous note on the chart
informs us, that 'about one-half of the boats are unserviceable!' Think
of Scotland, with its rocky seaboard of 1500 miles: only eight life-boats,
and some of these 'quite unserviceable!' The boats at St Andrews,
Aberdeen, and Montrose, have saved eighty-three lives; and the rockets
at eight stations, sixty-seven lives. 'Orkney and Shetland are without
any provision for saving life; and with the exception of Port Logan, in
Wigtonshire, where there is a mortar, the whole of the west coast of
Scotland, from Cape Wrath to Solway Firth--an extent of 900 miles,
without including islands--is in the same state.' With regard to the chief
distribution of English life-boats, there is one to every eight miles on
the Northumberland coast; one to every ten miles in Durham and
Yorkshire; one to fifteen miles in Lincolnshire; and one to five miles in
Norfolk and Suffolk--a fact which, the lecturer well observes, is highly
creditable to the county associations of the two last counties. But 'from
Falmouth round the Land's End, by Trevose Head to Hartland Point, an
extent of 150 miles of the most exposed sea-coast in England, there is
not one really efficient life-boat.' On the Welsh coasts are twelve boats,
some very defective. At the five Liverpool stations are nine good boats,
'liberally supported by the dock trustees, and having permanent boats'
crews.' These Liverpool boats have, during the last eleven years,
assisted 269 vessels, and brought ashore 1128 persons. As to the Isle of
Man, situated in the track of an enormous traffic, with shores frequently
studded with wrecks, we are told that there is not a single life-boat; for
the four boats established there by Sir William Hillary, Baronet, 'have
been allowed to fall into decay, and hardly a vestige of them remains!'
The paltry eight life-boats for the whole Irish coast of 1400 miles are
stated to be likewise inefficient.

On the whole, it appears to us that the present number of efficient
life-boats is not more than one-fourth of what ought to be constantly
kept ready for immediate service. Only think of the amount of wrecks
occurring occasionally in a single gale: On the 13th January 1843, not
less than 103 vessels were lost on the British coasts. In 1846, nearly
forty vessels were driven ashore in Hartlepool Bay alone. In the month
of March 1850, the wrecks on our coasts were 134; in the gale of the
25th and 26th September 1851, the number wrecked, stranded, or
damaged by collision, was 117; and in January of the present year, the
number was 120. The above are the numbers actually ascertained; but it
is well known that Lloyd's List is an imperfect register, although at
present the best existing.
A secondary mode of communicating with a stranded vessel is by firing
rockets with a line attached to them, by which means a hawser may be
drawn from the ship and fastened to the shore. Mortars are likewise
used for the same purpose; the latter plan having been invented by
Sergeant Bell, and first tried in 1792. Bell's plan was very greatly
improved by Captain Manby; and all the mortars now in use for the
purpose are called after him. Mr Dennett, of the Isle of Wight, first
introduced the rocket-plan in 1825. Rockets or mortars, or both, are
kept at most of the coast-guard stations; but in numerous cases were
found worthless on trial, owing to the lines breaking, or the rockets
being old and badly made. Nevertheless, at twenty-two stations, 214
lives have been saved by them. The evil